


Boys

by aoiichii



Category: Dance with Devils (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, M/M, Meiko is Mage, Multi, Slow Burn, i'll add more characters as they show up, the rating might go up as more chapters are added, this was spawned from ooc talk during roleplays in the dandevi fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-27 09:39:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7613101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aoiichii/pseuds/aoiichii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Childhood is so simple. Friends could be friends because they wanted to. There were no ulterior motives. Things could be taken at face value.<br/>It was when they grew up and outside forces started to press in on their world did things fall apart. </p><p>----</p><p>And then even his parents were looking at him, their expressions twisted, confused. “Roen? What’s going on?”</p><p>He felt sick honestly. He remained unresponsive as the adults all stared at him. What was he supposed to do? Mage had run away. His parents knew about Shiki. And apparently everything was his fault. It was getting difficult to breathe.</p><p>“I don’t know.” he mumbled, his fingers curling and snagging against the cloth of his pants. “I don’t know.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Growing Up

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been in the works for a bit now and I forgot about it until my friend mentioned it to me. Going back to reread it really made me want to complete the story so I'm going to post the chapters as I write so that I'll have a push to keep writing!
> 
>  
> 
> On the characters ages:  
> At the beginning of this chapter Mage and Shiki are five and Roen is four. By the end, Mage and Shiki are nineteen and Roen is eighteen.
> 
> As i write this and plan future chapters I'm coming to the realization that I really really like to make Roen's life miserable. I love the pom but apparently I love angst more.
> 
> I promise it won't be all sad!

“Stop it Shiki!”

Roen gave out a childish squeal as his little legs ran away from his purple-haired friend. Shiki had been chasing him for a couple minutes now with muddy worms clasped in his hands, trying to shove the fistfuls of bugs down Roen’s shirt.

“Then just let me do it puppy! It won’t hurt!”

“Momma’ll get mad at me!”

It was a wonder the two of them were such good friends when most of their playdates consisted of Shiki finding some way or other to get Roen in trouble. One time Shiki had found a pair of scissors and decided to play barbershop. Roen was his one and only victi- ah, customer. Roen’s mom had not been happy when she found that the long hair she’d convinced her little boy to grow out had been chopped up.

Roen personally liked the shorter style. It was less painful when he got mud in his hair and his mom had to scrub it out.

On his third time circling the park, dodging around the swingset, Roen’s big blue eyes landed on a blonde girl that was standing by herself watching them run around. Somewhere in his five-year-old mind, Roen decided she’d save him and immediately made a beeline for her, hiding behind her and holding onto the back of her shirt despite her sudden yelp of protest.

“Hey! What’re you doing?”

“That’s cheating puppy!” Shiki stopped a few feet short of running into them and reluctantly dropped his handfuls of mud and bugs onto the ground, pouting. “Mommy won’t let me play with you anymore if I make a girl cry.”

Shiki’s words seemed to make the girl mad as she puffed her cheeks out and crossed her arms over her chest, stomping her foot. “I’m not a girl!”

Both Roen and Shiki stopped glaring at each other and turned their eyes to the girl, taking in her pink shirt and fluffy skirt before looking at each other confused.

“Then what are you?” Roen asked, letting go of her shirt and finally stepping back.

“A boy!”

The two boys stared at her for a moment before Shiki grinned, Roen’s eyes widened in panic and he immediately reached for the boy’s hand and pulled him along behind him, “Run! Shiki’s gonna throw mud at us!”

“No fair puppy! You got a head-start!”

* * *

 

A quick and easy friendship formed around Roen, Shiki and now Meiko. The two friends didn’t mind including Meiko in their activities, often asking for play-dates to include their new friend.

The only thing they didn’t understand was why their parents and even Meiko’s parents kept calling him a girl. They were always getting scolded over it.

“Shiki! Don’t pull on Meiko’s hair! That’s not how you treat a girl!”

“Roen, don’t put those bugs on Meiko! Girls won’t like you if you do that!”

“Meiko slow down! You’ll tear your skirt like that! You’re a young lady, be more careful!”

They never really did listen to what the parents said. Roen and Shiki had both told their parents that Meiko said he was a boy, but they’d only gotten weird looks in response, and Meiko’s parents had laughed and said that their little girl was just playing around. When they brought it up with Meiko, he insisted that he really was a boy, and that was the end of that.

After all, if Meiko said he was a boy, who better else to know that then Meiko himself, right?

Shiki got sick one week and couldn’t join Meiko and Roen for their usual playdate, so instead of meeting at the park, Meiko’s parents dropped him off at Roen’s place to play. Roen’s Uncle was watching him that day and Roen pressed a finger to his lips as he took Meiko’s hand and lead him upstairs to his room.

“Uncle Maksis gets mad if I’m too loud, but we can play in my room if we’re not noisy.”

“What’re we gonna play?” Meiko asked, tugging on the skirt he was wearing.

Roen stopped looking around his room to reach out and tug on Meiko’s skirt himself, “Is that weird to wear?”

“Uhm...no...not really…” Meiko shuffled his feet, worrying at his bottom lip, “Mom and Dad pick them out for me…”

Roen recognized the signs that Meiko displayed when he was about to start crying and tugged on Meiko’s skirt again. “You wanna trade? You can wear one of my shorts today if you want, and I’ll wear your skirt.”

“I-is that okay…?”

Roen nodded quickly, “I don’t mind~”

The children exchanged clothes and Roen did a little twirl in the skirt he now wore, grinning when he made Meiko giggle. “Does it look good?”

“Haha~ You look silly Roen.”

Roen pouted and placed his hands on his waist, jutting his hip out comically like he’d seen girls on TV do. “I look fabulous you mean.”

Meiko laughed harder at that and Roen’s smile spread as he walked up and down, striking random poses. Roen rather liked Meiko’s laugh, it suited his friend better than the frown and quiet that he always became whenever his parents were around.

There was a sudden pounding on the door and Roen dropped his arm, grimacing.

“What’s all that noise?!”

Roen hurried to stand in front of Meiko as his door was forced open and his uncle appeared, scowling down at the children. There was his look of disapproval etched on his face that only deepened as he stared down his nephew.

“What the hell are you wearing boy?”

“...it’s a skirt…” Roen mumbled in response, staring down at his carpet as he kept himself between his uncle and his friend.

“Answer me properly!”

“It’s a skirt, sir!” Roen answered loudly, picking up his head to glare at the much older man.

“And why are you wearing a skirt?!”

“ ‘Cause I felt like it.”

Maksis scowled at the little boys, “Keep the noise down”, and then he was gone again.

Roen relaxed his tense shoulders and turned, automatically pulling Meiko into a hug, “I’m sorry Meiko. That must have been scary…”

Meiko’s hands fisted into the back of Roen’s shirt and he felt his friend shake his head no; Roen decided not to dwell on the fact that his shirt felt wet from where Meiko was pressing his face.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Pooch’s got a girlfriend~ Pooch’s got a girlfriend~”

Roen pushed Shiki’s face away from his as he rolled his eyes, trying to focus on the book he was reading.

“What’s this about Roen getting a girlfriend?”

Shiki looked up from where he was hanging over Roen’s back and grinned at the sight of their friend. “Meiko~~~” he bounced up and left Roen to his reading to inform the blond about the newest development in their blue-haired friend’s life.

“A girl in our class confessed to the pooch yesterday~ She made him chocolates and everything~”

Meiko arched an eyebrow as he glanced down at Roen, who was scowling at his book now. “You didn’t have to tell Meiko that Shiki.”

Shiki dropped back to the ground beside Roen, leaning his head into the blue-haired adolescent’s lap and forcing Roen to set his book aside because he knew there was no way he was going to get any more reading done. “Aww~ What’s wrong? Think the snake won’t like you anymore if you’re dating a girl~?”

Roen frowned again and shoved Shiki out of his lap. “I’m not dating anyone. I turned her down.”

Meiko sat down on Roen’s other side, having to arrange the skirt of the uniform that he wore. His parents had sent him to an all-girl’s school while Roen and Shiki had gone to a local co-ed school, they still met up every other day to hang out though.

“Heh, our puppy’s already becoming a heartbreaker~” Meiko commented with a smirk and Roen groaned. Why did it always feel like these two were forever ganging up to pick on him?

“With that pretty face of his? Haha~ You should have seen what happened when he forgot his bento the other day.”

“Oh yea?”

“The girl’s were all trying to give him their food, it was hilarious.”

“Tch.” Roen glanced away as the two laughed at him, though his expression lightened up as he listened to them laugh. He enjoyed these times with them. It was easy and when it was just the three of them, it was nice.

“Why don’t you tell Meiko about _your_ love life instead of mine all the time _crow_?”

“Shiki with a love life?” Meiko snorted.

“Hey! I don’t see you sharing any stories either Meiko.”

“That’s cause I’m not interested in one right now.”

The trio fell into their usual bickering, somehow ending up on top of one another as they tried to tackle the others down onto the ground. At some point somebody passing by made a comment about Meiko roughhousing with the two boys and Roen and Shiki’s expressions would darken as Meiko fidgeted uncomfortably before the other two would scare off the passerby, though if it was someone their age they didn’t mind throwing a few punches either.

At the end of the day, all three collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

“You two know I can handle myself right?” Meiko asked as they were staring up at the sky.

Shiki lifted his head up briefly before dropping it heavily back onto Roen’s stomach, making the blue haired boy cringe and wheeze. “Of course we know that~ We’re not stupid.”

Roen shifted so his head nudged Meiko’s shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with friends defending friends, even if they can protect themselves.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Mage?”

“Yea, that’s my name now.”

Roen looked up from his homework, glancing to his friend, sprawled across his bed. “Okay.”

Mage propped himself up on his arms and stared at Roen, “Okay? That’s it?”

“What? Did you want me to say something else?” Roen spun his chair around to face the blond, smiling. “Well, I suppose I should congratulate you. You finally found a name you like~”

“Shut up!” Mage’s cheeks flushed, “It didn’t take me _that_ long.”

Roen quirked an eyebrow, “Really? Just last week you were asking if I liked the sound of tha-” Roen was cut off as Mage tackled him out of his chair, the both of them landing in a heap on the ground.

_“Roen! Is everything alright up there?”_

“Yes! I just fell out of my chair Mom!”

He stuck his tongue out at Mage and the two fell into peals of laughter.

 

* * *

 

“You know Shiki, there is such a thing called _dodging_.” Mage chastised the purple-head as he dabbed ointment on the bruise darkening Shiki’s cheek none too gently.

Shiki’s response was to shrug. It wasn’t like the pain really bothered him and he’d gotten his assailant back twice as good.

All Mage knew was that Shiki had gotten into a fight during classes and had been suspended for a few days, the guy he’d been fighting with had been suspended for a month. Shiki had yet to explain _why_ he’d been fighting though.

“Hey Mage, do you think there’s something wrong with the puppy?”

Mage finished capping the ointment and turned, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the desk in Shiki’s room. “The puppy? Not that I’ve noticed…” Though to be honest, Mage had been distracted with his own problems at home, he hadn’t really been paying much attention to how his friends were doing. He just trusted they were fine since they told him they were fine.

“He’s been really quiet lately. It’s not much fun trying to prank him anymore.”

“Maybe he’s just gotten used to your antics.”

“I think he’s being bullied.”

“What?” Mage frowned, “I doubt that. He’d have mentioned something. He’s not stupid enough to keep something like that to himself.”

“You didn’t see him today.”

It was rare for Shiki to be in such a serious mood. His orange eyes held no mirth as he scowled at his hands.

“Does it have something to do with your suspension?”

Shiki nodded grudgingly. “They were saying things about the puppy that just rubbed me the wrong way. I just decided to set them straight.”

“And Roen? What did he say?”

“I don’t know. Told me not to bother. He said it didn’t matter.”

“Then you shouldn’t have done anything.” Mage rolled his eyes. “You’re just stupidly getting into fights, it’s going to make more enemies for him.”

“Then I’ll just fight them all.”

Before Mage could tell Shiki just how stupid that course of action would be, the room door was opened and Roen stepped in, looking curiously between the two. “What?”

Shiki made a sound of disgust before dropping onto his bed, his back to his friends. Mage raised both his eyebrows. What was that? The purple-head had just been telling how much he wanted to protect their puppy and now he was ignoring him?

“What happened today pooch?”

Roen’s expression immediately dropped and he set his bag down before answering with a short, “Nothing.”

“Sure doesn’t sound like nothing.”

“Some guys just wanted to pick a fight. Shiki took the bait.”

“Yea? Over what?” There was something that neither of them were telling Mage, and he didn’t like the feeling of being out of the loop.

Roen looked uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had gone in and Shiki was being no help, his back still to them. The blue-head finally let out a sigh and turned his head to stare out the window.

“Some stupid names they were calling me.”

“Stupid names? That’s what this whole thing is over? Are you kiddi-”

“More like derogatory I guess. They saw me kissing a guy.”

What.

Wait what. Weren’t they just joking about the pooch having a girlfriend a few months ago? When had he gotten a boyfriend and why did Mage not know about this?

Roen must have gotten something from Mage’s expression because he gave a small laugh.

“I’m not dating him if you’re wondering about that.” Roen shrugged his shoulders.

“It was just a kiss though, what could they really say about that?”

As Mage watched, Roen’s cheeks colored and he ducked his head.

“Roen?”

“Ah...it might have...we might have been shirtless…”

“...and who was the guy?”

Mage could have sworn that Roen looked at Shiki then and that Shiki’s shoulders tensed. But that might have just been his eyes failing him. That had to be it. A trick of the light.

“You’re telling me the two of you were making out in public and _didn’t think it was important to tell me that you were dating?_ ”

Shiki turned at that and made shushing sounds at Mage, glancing towards his door as if scared his parents would burst through at any moment exclaiming over Mage’s words.

Roen coughed and ran a hand through his hair. “We’re not dating,” he repeated.

“ ‘Cause the pooch is scared to.” Shiki tacked on, frowning.

“Please, you were just as much against the idea as I was.” Roen shot back.

As the two bickered over whose fault it was exactly, Mage had to wonder  how he’d missed this development entirely. Thinking back, the two _had_ always been really touchy-feely with one another whether it was Shiki hanging over Roen or taking naps in Roen’s lap or Roen just leaning into Shiki as he read his books. Maybe it was just the fact that Shiki was forever teasing Roen about getting a girlfriend and that Shiki himself never seemed interested in a relationship…

“...in the end it’s best if we just stay friends.”

“What?”

Roen dropped his head into his hands and Shiki burst into laughter. “You weren’t listening at all were you Mage?”

 

* * *

 

 

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Mage had walked into Roen’s room to discuss something with his friend, but had not expected to walk in on the blue-head being pressed into his bed by Shiki, with his wrists held above his head and the two of them making out. Mage might have shut the door behind him a little harder than necessary to get the two to break apart.

“Just friends my ass.”

Shiki sat back, straddling Roen’s waist and grinned at Mage, completely unperturbed and without skipping a beat, “If you wanted to join us you only had to ask snake~”

Roen on the other hand was a bit more flustered, in a bit of a daze as he stared up at his ceiling.

“What’d you do to him?”

Shiki laughed, “I might have tackled him without warning and teased him a bit.”

After Roen had recovered and he’d glared at Shiki for a good couple of minutes, the three of them settled around the table with snacks and all attention was on Mage.

“Is this the same thing we talked about last time?” Roen asked, breaking a cookie into small pieces and just crumbling it into dust between his fingers. Mage nodded as Shiki looked between the two, feeling as if he was missing a big piece of information.

“I...made an appointment already.”

“...your parents?”

“They don’t approve obviously. Still think it’s a phase I’ll grow out of.”

“And the money?”

“I’ve saved up almost all of it. Should have enough with my next paycheck.”

“That’s good.” Roen had offered to help by contributing to the fund since he’d found out about Mage’s plan, but the blond was stubborn and wanted to do it on his own, so Roen had just requested that he be updated regularly on Mage’s progress.

Shiki on the other hand, reached out and pulled on Roen’s locks with a pout. “You guys are leaving me out~~~ What are you talking about so secretively~”

Roen swatted Shiki’s hand away, “Ask Mage if you want to know, it’s his news to tell anyway.”

“Well snake?”

Though the three of them had grown up together, it was strange. Mage had never really gone to Shiki with his problems as much as he had gone to Roen...he hadn’t even realized that Shiki didn’t know what they were talking about.

“Ah...upper chest surgery. I looked into it and I’m old enough to get the surgery without my parent’s consent so…”

Shiki blinked in surprise at the information, but a grin spread over his lips and he grabbed a pillow from Roen’s bed to throw at Mage. “That’s not something you keep from me, you jerks!”

 

* * *

 

Roen supposed it had been inevitable. He stood silently in his living room as he listened to Mage’s parents screaming at him as his own parents tried to defend him against the angry couple’s tirade.

Mage had run away it seemed.

So his parents had gone to whom they assumed to be the source of all their problems.

“It’s your fault our daughter mutilated her body like that!”

“Why didn’t you just keep your own perverted ways away from our angel?!”

Roen’s arms hung limply at his sides, his eyes unfocused.

“What do you think you’re saying to our son! He has nothing to do with whatever your child has decided to do!”

“Oh really? Have you spoken to him recently? Do you know he’s been running around with that Shiki boy recently?”

“They’re friends!”

“Friends don’t kiss and touch each other the ways they do! The neighborhood talks you know! I’m sure you’ve heard the rumours as well?”

And then even his parents were looking at him, their expressions twisted, confused. “Roen? What’s going on?”

He felt sick honestly. He remained unresponsive as the adults all stared at him. What was he supposed to do? Mage had run away. His parents knew about Shiki. And apparently everything was his fault. It was getting difficult to breathe.

“I don’t know.” he mumbled, his fingers curling and snagging against the cloth of his pants. “I don’t know.”

His vision was starting to tunnel and darkness bit at the edges of his sight. It had been fine for so long. Everything had been good for so long. But now it was all ruined. Nothing was making sense to him. How had it all just come undone so suddenly?

Why couldn’t things go back to the way they had been before? Being children had been so much easier than this.

“Roen...calm down...Roen come, breathe dear…”

There were hands on his shoulders, on his back, there was yelling filling his ears. God, he just wanted it to go away.

“Let’s go to your room okay? One foot in front of the other...come on…”


	2. Surviving Arc: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three friends are all on their own now, just getting by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the story won't be written in the quick passage of time that happened in the first chapter. It's going to be a slow burn cause I want to explore the character's relationships with one another.

It had been years since he’d been back here and Mage wasn’t sure if he could say that he was returning home. Did he still consider this place home? It had really changed since he’d been gone.

As he headed to the hotel that he had booked a room in while he was apartment hunting, Mage noted that the once small area he had lived in as a child had developed into a very lively area. A lot had happened while he’d been away, he vaguely wondered if anyone he knew was still around.

Compared to his younger years here, Mage felt more confident in himself, walked with his shoulders back and didn’t particularly care about the eyes that followed him. In fact, he grinned as he walked, he knew he looked good. He was proud of himself. He’d left with barely anything and now he came back with experiences and honors that he doubted many of the people he had once known could ever ridicule him about.

After checking in and dropping off the bag of belongings he had at a hotel, Mage decided to wander around the town to refamiliarize himself with the area. It couldn’t hurt to also look around for a place that was hiring either, he had quite a bit saved up but it wouldn’t last forever. Finding a more permanent residence was also a must, but he had a little leeway for both things. He’d booked his room for a week so far, if anything he could just book another room if anything.

It was interesting walking around, like glimpsing into a life he might have had if he’d never left, he’d seen some familiar faces but no one had recognized him. It was kind of strange to know that to them he was just another stranger instead of a friend or acquaintance they once knew.

The sun had set hours ago and the street lamps had lit up the streets before Mage decided to head back to the hotel.

“Hey pretty thing~ Why don’t you come and play with us for a while~?”

Mage’s shoulders tensed and he glanced over his shoulder quickly, only then realizing that of course they weren’t speaking to him. It would be weird if they were. He would have kept on walking if his eyes hadn’t finally caught sight of the guy that had uttered those words, he and two others seemed to be boxing in a fourth person who was shorter than them, thus making it hard for Mage to see them.

There must have been some kind of response from the targeted person as the guys surrounding them laughed.

“Oh please, we’ve seen where you work, we’ve got money, just name your price.”

The leader stumbled back, as if pushed, and Mage decided he’d heard enough, pivoting to head over to confront the guys. He picked up his pace as the leader lunged back at whoever they had trapped and the sound of skin hitting skin echoed in the quiet night.

It wasn’t particularly fair to take them by surprise like this, Mage mused as his fist landed and he knocked one guy away before pulling aside a second, and kicking the third. But he figured they didn’t really deserve a fair fight, ganging up on someone like they were.

Apparently they didn’t think it was a fair fight either, getting up and running away almost immediately after they’d gotten a good look at him.

There was a scuffling sound behind him and Mage turned, remembering that he’d stepped in front of whomever those three had been bullying. His eyes landed on faintly familiar shades of blue hair and he furrowed his brow as he stared down at the person who had their head beant. Long strands of hair cascaded over their shoulder and he took a step back to place more space between them before clearing his throat.

“They’re gone now miss.”

The head lifted and Mage found himself lost in a gaze of frigid blue ice. 

“I’m not a girl.”

Those words seemed nostalgic and Mage blinked, registering the meaning of the words as red flooded his cheeks in embarrassment. 

“Ah...s-sorry...I just assumed…”

The guy lifted his hands and his fingers disappeared into his hair, fiddling for a moment before pulling away the long strands, leaving hair that only brushed the nape of his neck. “Is that better?”

His tone wasn’t very friendly, and he appeared to be completely unaffected by the entire ordeal that had just passed, save for the red mark left on his face from being struck by the guy earlier.

“Uh...yea…”

Mage felt like he was missing something as he answered. Like there was something else he should have been saying. But as he watched, the male just stuck his extensions into the bag he carried and carefully pulled it back over his shoulder before turning to walk away. He’d gotten a few feet away before Mage ran after him.

“Hey! Aren’t you supposed to thank someone when they save you?!”

The guy looked over his shoulder in annoyance, “I didn’t ask for your help. I was fine.”

What an irritating attitude. “Man, rude. What the hell’s your problem?”

There was no response, he’d just kept walking. So Mage trailed after him, they were walking in the same direction anyway. He stared at the guy’s back as they traveled across the city blocks. And it didn’t hit him why he’d felt he was forgetting something until he could see the hotel he was booked into just two blocks away.

His entire personality seemed off and even the way he carried himself was different but this guy...he had to be… 

“Roen…?”

The blue-haired male seemed to hesitate mid-step, but made no acknowledgements as he continued to trudge on. Mage jogged the few feet that separated them and grabbed Roen’s shoulder, to stop him. 

“Roen, it’s me! Mage!”

He’d stopped walking when Mage had come into contact with him, but Roen continued to stare at the sidewalk in front of him, quiet. Perhaps Mage had been wrong? But the more he stared at this guy, the more similarities he could find between him and his best friend. He couldn’t have gotten this wrong.

“I know.”

“Wh-what?” Mage hadn’t expected the chill in Roen’s tone and pulled his hand away, letting it drop to his side.

Roen seemed to shrink into himself, his shoulders curving into his body. “I know who you are.”

“Oh. Then...then why didn’t you say anything?”

He shrugged. “What is there to say?” Roen finally turned to look at him and Mage found that Roen’s gaze was completely apathetic as he appraised Mage. “...I suppose I should congratulate you. On everything you’ve achieved since you left.”

A feeling of dread pooled in Mage’s stomach. Something was very wrong with this situation. He knew he couldn’t expect his friends to welcome him back with open arms...but even this cold detachment seemed over the top.

Strangers were warmer than this.

“Now if that’s all you wanted...I’m leaving.”

He didn’t try to stop him from leaving. Mage needed some time to think before he confronted Roen again. He watched his old friend’s back, so small in the orange glow of the streetlights, and it seemed so fragile to him. Like one wrong move and he’d break.

Mage needed to understand why he felt that way.

Roen wasn’t some weak kid, he’d never been. So why did Mage feel like that small back that had used to protect him was going to disappear if he didn’t watch it carefully?

 

* * *

 

Roen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he shakily got up from where he’d been kneeling over the toilet bowl. He flushed before reaching for the mouthwash to rinse out the taste of bile that lingered. Today had not been a good day. He’d drank too much at work and then he’d had a run in with some perverts and then...he spat his mouthful of mouthwash into the sink, ducking his head to fill his mouth with water from the running sink. He rinsed thoroughly before spitting and reaching for his toothbrush.

And then Mage had shown up.

Roen brushed his teeth on autopilot as he glanced briefly into the mirror above the sink before looking away again. He couldn’t stand to look at himself for very long in reflective surfaces. He’d have to get to work early and ask someone to help him cover up his newest bruise with some make-up. It wouldn’t do good for business if he appeared on the floor with visible remnants of fights on his person.

Part of him was glad to have seen Mage again. It put worries that he hadn’t realized he’d still had to rest. But the rest of him was unsettled. He’d spent the last three years avoiding his past. It wasn’t in his plans to run into anybody from that time again.

When he was done with his before bed routine, Roen left the bathroom, clipping his bangs back from his face. The apartment he lived in was quiet and not for the first time Roen wondered if he should try to find another roommate. At least it wouldn’t feel so empty if another person lived here with him. And he wouldn’t be left to his own thoughts all the time.

He crossed the living room to where he had left his bag and opened it to retrieve the extensions he had shoved in before, hoping he hadn’t tangled the strands. He carefully combed them out before sighing, refolding them, and setting them down on the coffee table. Maybe it would just be easier if he let his hair grow out instead of having to wear extensions for work all the time. Ah no...but then it would be bad if someone decided to grab him by his hair…

Incidents like today’s didn’t happen all the time since Roen tended to clean up before leaving work, but on the days that felt too long and he’d drunk too much, there was a good chance that he’d be cornered. Some were easier to scare off than others. Most cases ended in an exchanging of blows and another trip to the nearest precinct. At least he’d learned to change his clothes before he left the club. And made somewhat friends with the officers at that precinct.

The first trip to the precinct had been awkward for everyone involved save for the guy that had tried to assault Roen, as the blue head had knocked him out by the time the officers showed up. It had been especially difficult for Roen to defend himself since, well, he wasn’t the one knocked out, and he was dressed in his work clothes. They weren’t very…”daytime friendly”. Thankfully, Roen had been able to call his neighbor to come get him and the kindly old lady had made the trip and even given her own two cents to the officers before taking Roen by the hand and leading him back to their apartment complex.

Roen sank into his sofa, leaning his head back against the cushions. He breathed deeply, counting his breaths, trying to fight off the fog of sleep that was beginning to creep through his mind. He still had some chores to finish...the dishes in the sink...and a load of laundry… 

Against his wishes, the fatigue from the day’s events and the alcohol still making its way through his system won and Roen slumped to the side, asleep.

* * *

 

A blaring alarm woke Shiki from his slumber abruptly. He knew that wasn’t a healthy way to wake up and often told his own patients so, but it was ultimately the only way he could wake himself up anymore. His long erratic hours at the hospital had really thrown his internal clock off. He’d needed to put those hours in to get the experience required to prove that he could take on more difficult surgeries. 

Which also meant he would earn a larger salary and finally be able to get out from under his parents’ roof where he felt like he was suffocating with how closely they were watching his every action.

They probably hadn’t counted on the fact that by forcing him into the medical field, he’d be able to earn enough money to live on his own and away from their prying eyes. Somewhere in their delusions they had actually thought he’d be grateful to them.

He’d bought himself a studio apartment and moved out as soon as he’d gotten his first substantial paycheck.

Shiki untwisted his blankets, throughout the night he somehow always managed to tangle the blankets into complicated knots around his own limbs, and mumbled his schedule for the day to himself as he drifted into the bathroom.

A meeting with the hospital board in the morning, one major surgery where he was going to be observed, a late lunch meeting with his team, then doing rounds with the interns.

That didn’t sound too bad. He could only hope there were no emergency patients.

As he left the bathroom, Shiki accidentally kicked one of the many open easels that were scattered throughout his apartment.

Kicking solid wood did not feel good. Generally. To be honest the pain didn’t bother Shiki, in fact he welcomed it. That sudden jolt from his foot had woken him up a lot faster than a cup of coffee could have.

Perhaps the pain plus a scalding cup of coffee would be good enough to wake him up completely for that meeting.

As he debated over what blend to have that morning, Shiki turned to check on his easel. He’d left a canvas up to dry and he hadn’t heard it fall so it was probably fine, but checking didn’t hurt. It had been jostled and slipped lower and towards the edge of the ledge that it was propped on, but, as he’d thought, the painting was fine.

It wasn’t anything special at first glance. He mostly did cityscapes or landscapes. Empty rooms. This one was the outside of a club, vague human shapes to show the crowd waiting to be let in. There was one person that was more defined than the rest, their blue hair drifting over their shoulder as they passed through the door of the club, their front half obscured by the darkness of the entrance.

Shiki knew who it was supposed to be. He wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t trying to kid himself. It was a painting of the scene he’d glimpsed on his way home from a late night at the hospital. It had just been a glance, but he’d recognized his childhood friend. And he hadn’t had the nerve to stop the car and chase after him.

He’d continued on his way home instead.

Then he’d taken out his frustrations on a few canvases, their ripped remains still sitting in the corner, and downed a bottle of red wine before passing out on the floor. Needless to say, he was much more irritable the next day than he normally was and managed to scare off more interns that he had been supposed to be teaching than he’d ever admit.  
  
Regardless of his pent up frustrations, he had things he needed to do that didn’t include dwelling in the past. Turning once more away from the art, Shiki settled on a dark roast. He’d drink it black on his way to the hospital, the bitterness would compliment his mood perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character Ages:  
> Mage and Shiki are about twenty-five, twenty--six ish now and Roen is twenty-four, twenty-five ish.
> 
> I don't know if I'll keep this format of having all three PoVs in one chapter at once. I might switch to just one per chapter or just write the rest of the story from one perspective. Or have different combos of PoVs per chapter.


End file.
